4 BULLETIN 713, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



mind that the money expended in getting higher yields should in- 

 crease net returns by more than this expenditure. 



In order to secure good crop yields under the system of farming 

 in vogue in the localit}^ under discussion it is necessary to use com- 

 mercial fertilizer. The practice of liming the land is becoming well 

 established and is a means of rapidly building up its fertility. In 

 order to get proper results from fertilizer and lime, however, the soil 

 must also be kept supplied with humus. Grass and clover are de- 

 pended on mainly to supply this requisite, but these, sown usually 

 with wheat, frequently fail to make a stand, thus interfering with the 

 usual rotation. In this way the land loses in fertility ; and in order 

 to allow it to recuperate, it is often allowed to lie idle a year or more. 

 This fact, in large measure, accounts for idle improved land on many 

 farms. 



Many practices for insuring a stand of grass and clover have been 

 tried with more or less success. Among these are the spreading of 

 straw on the land sown to wheat and grass-clover mixture. Another 

 practice is to summer fallow the land. Then, after thoroughly har- 

 rowing and packing the seed bed, the grass-clover mixture is sown 

 without a nurse crop. Sometimes land thus prepared is covered with 

 straw, to conserve moisture and protect the young plants. The prac- 

 tice of liming the land, as previously mentioned, has proved to be one 

 of the most effective means of insuring a stand of clover, and when 

 this practice becomes established the problem of maintaining fertility 

 will be largely solved. 



Lespedeza, widely known as Japan clover, is finding its way slowly 

 into the system of farming in this locality. It is found growing in 

 most waste places, along highways, and is creeping into the pastures. 

 This legume may be sown with red or alsike clover in the early 

 spring. In places where the soil is too poor for the grass and red- 

 clover mixture, the lespedeza will usually grow, and while it will not 

 get high enough to cut for hay it will furnish pasture, besides holding 

 and enriching the soil. It will reseed each year, thus holding the 

 land indefinitely if not disturbed. It matures later than most meadow 

 grasses and other legumes, thus furnishing good summer and fall 

 pasture. On fertile soil it makes a good hay cro23, or it may be cut 

 late in the fall for seed. 



The proper stocking of the farm is one of the most important fac- 

 tors in maintaining good crop yields. This depends largely on suc- 

 cess in maintaining meadows and pasture. Thus the problem of 

 stocking the farm is closely related to the problem of insuring each 

 year a stand of grass and clover. If the farmers in this region will 

 establish the practice of liming the soil, in order to make the grass 

 and clover crop more reliable, and if they will sow alsike clover and 



